Why 2013 is the Year to be in Germany for The Energy Storage World Forum

Published byDufresne / Energy Storage Forum / EV Battery Forum

Tuesday 5 March 2013

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There has been a lot of traffic in Germany with regards to energy storage, with more than 10,000 energy storage inverters being shipped there, and the German government handing out more than $67 million worth of subsidies to photovoltaic-tied energy storage systems. Germany is and has been one of the leading countries investing in renewable energy storage systems, and there is no doubt why the Energy Storage World Forum should be held at the heart of all the action.

In April this year, from the 23rd to the 25th, delegates from more than 35 countries and over 20 utilities will gather at the Kempinski Hotel in Berlin, Germany to examine the business case of energy storage. Over the course of 3 days, speakers at the 6th Energy Storage World Forum will expound on new developments in the energy storage industry.

Kevin Sara, the CEO of Nur Energie from the UK, shines a light on solar energy storage in “To What Extent is Energy Storage the Killer App for Solar and How?” A panel of seven representatives, including Policy Advisers from the French Ministry and the European Commission, will also debate the debacle of public-private proprietary rights of energy storage.

There has been a resurgence of interest in energy storage lately, with giants like Apple, Google and Samsung investing heavily in energy storage. According to John Peterson, a specialist in energy storage, companies which manage large networks of electronic equipment such as Google and Apple, are immense users of electricity and have extremely high power quality needs.

“As such, these companies can suffer huge economic losses from transitory power outages that are not obvious or noticeable. Thus, their focus on robust energy storage to avoid outages and minimize power costs is perfectly understandable, when you couple the high value these companies place on power reliability with the huge opportunities for increased energy efficiency,” he said.

With occurrences of natural disasters on the rise, like freak storm Hurricane Sandy knocking out electricity on nearly the entire east coast of the United States, local officials and big companies have stepped up their game, determined not to allow such events disrupt daily lives and businesses. Energy storage is imperative to ensuring a reliable source of energy continues amidst natural disasters. A speaker at the Forum in Berlin will thus be sharing on “Using Power Electronics to Achieve a Smooth Transition Between On Grid - Off Grid and Avoiding Outage”.

Energy storage is not just the concern of developed countries affected badly by power outages though. Representatives from Nigeria, India and Swaziland will also be at the forum. With the developments of the 21st century coming largely from the Internet and modern technology, developing countries have recognised that a reliable supply of energy is essential to economic growth, and therefore raising the standard of living. Abubakar Sani Sambo, the Director General/CEO of the Energy Commission of Nigeria makes no secret of his mission in “How Can Nigeria Benefit from Energy Storage?”

This is the first time the Energy Storage World Forum has had representatives from more than four continents.

About the Energy Storage World Forum
The 6th Energy Storage World Forum will feature more than 20 utilities/TSOs/DSOs, 40 presentation topics, and 50 speakers over 5 days of the forum and workshops.
View the full forum programme here.